The present invention relates to surgical methods and apparatus, and in particular relates to methods and apparatus designed to open and close surgical wounds without using sutures, staples or other devices extending into the patient's body.
A variety of suture materials have been used in the past for closing surgical wounds. In recent times, staples have been utilized as a substitute for sutures. There have also been suggestions for using straps, buttons, zippers and glues to achieve these same ends.
It is now known that a surgical wound closure technique that extends a foreign substance into the patient's body (as sutures, staples, etc.) creates a higher likelihood of introduction of undesirable bacteria into the patient's body, thus increasing the incidence of infection.
There have been techniques which have been described for avoiding the use of devices which extend into the patient's body. For example, the use of Steri-Strips has been suggested to approximate the edges of the skin at the wound site, without the use of skin sutures, clips or staples, with lower infection rate being experienced. See Surgical Practice News, May 1988, p. 21. See also U.S. Pat. No. 4,038,989 to Romero-Sierra et al.
It is also preferable to avoid the use of sutures, staples and the like for purposes of reducing the amount of scar tissue forming at the surgical wound. There have been suggestions in the prior art for utilizing non-invasive materials for that purpose; see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,847,155 to Bernaola, which teaches the use of a co-polymer film applied to the skin and over the wound.
Other techniques which have been suggested for avoiding the necessity of utilizing intrusive materials include surgical dressings which are attached on opposite sides of the wound, and which are in turn joined together by sutures, zippers or similar fasteners. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,752,921 to Fink.